Megapot 1.2 vs. Boilermaker

mattnaik · October 25, 2013, 3:20pm

I know its an incredibly subjective topic, but I am in the market for a brew kettle and want to get one that will last. I don’t PLAN on ever going to 10gal batches so I will be looking at 10gal total volume kettles. I plan on eventually going all grain but for right now this will just be for extract brewing. A megapot of the same volume with brewmometer and ball valve is half the price of a blichmann.

So given that, can anyone convince me it’s worth the extra money to go with a blichmann? I could buy lots of cool stuff with that extra $200+

silentknyght · October 25, 2013, 4:36pm

Uh, I’m not sure where you got a $200 difference…
10gal Megapot 1.2 w/ ball valve & thermometer is $250
10gal Boilermaker w/ ball valve & thermometer is $330

I own a boilermaker and I’ve scrutinized the 1.2 Megapots in person. Here’s my $0.02:

Boilermaker has superior volume measurement with the sight glass. It's subdivided into quarter-gallons, compared to the 1.0 gallon increments on the Megapot 1.2. The Boilermaker is likely easier to read, too. The Megapot 1.2 is laser-etched on the inside, and the black on dark-grey was tough to read when I was looking at it in the store. I think it'd be almost impossible read with an active boil & steam in the way.[/*]
Boilermaker sight glass takes extra time to clean.[/*]
Boilermaker ball valve is three-piece, which makes it easier to clean.[/*]
Boilermaker thermometer is articulated, for viewing at almost any angle.[/*]
Megapot 1.2 has a sandwich bottom, likely to help prevent wort scorching. From what I know, Boilermaker bottom isn't any thicker than the sides.[/*]
Boilermaker lid handles are large enough so that they can hang on the kettle handles. It's surprising how simple yet nice a feature this is. Megapot 1.2 handles are too small to do this.[/*]

nighthawk · October 25, 2013, 4:38pm

I would look at your restaurant supply stores to see what they have available. Easy enough to put your own valve in.

mattnaik · October 25, 2013, 4:43pm

[quote=“Silentknyght”]Uh, I’m not sure where you got a $200 difference…
10gal Megapot 1.2 w/ ball valve & thermometer is $250
10gal Boilermaker w/ ball valve & thermometer is $330
[/quote]

Yeah honestly I don’t know how I came up with this but was thinking it was $500. I think when I priced it out i had the false bottom and hop blocker option checked. So it’s a ~$80 difference. Of course money is always relative but do you feel the extra features of the boilermaker make it worth an extra $80?

mattnaik · October 25, 2013, 4:45pm

Honestly, I would be way too afraid i would screw the thing up. That would be an expensive mistake.

silentknyght · October 25, 2013, 5:19pm

[quote=“mattnaik”]
Yeah honestly I don’t know how I came up with this but was thinking it was $500. I think when I priced it out i had the false bottom and hop blocker option checked. So it’s a ~$80 difference. Of course money is always relative but do you feel the extra features of the boilermaker make it worth an extra $80?[/quote]

For me, it’s usually high-end or low-end, with little in-between. So, I’d probably either do the Boilermaker or find an el-cheapo kettle and punch in my own ball valve.

As for the boilermaker’s extras, they’re mostly nice conveniences. I measure my brewing water volumes using the sight glass (it’s accurate, at least to the quarter-gallon) and it’s nice to be able to angle the thermometer. Hanging the lid rather than putting it on the floor is also rather nice. The three-piece ball valve is stupid good, though; maybe more “mandatory” than "nice convenience. Where it counts, I won’t ever use a 2-piece valve, again. You can pick up a 3-piece valve for only $15-20, though, if you look online, so by no means is it exclusive to the Boilermaker.

scalded_dog · October 25, 2013, 6:49pm

The 15 Gal Megapot is the same price on this website. Just curious why wouldn’t you ever want to do 10 gal batches?

mattnaik · October 25, 2013, 7:00pm

Same price as what? The 15 gal with valve and thermo is $300

I don’t think I’d ever want to make 10 gallons of beer at a time. I like brewing and I like variety. If I REALLY wanted to make 10 gallons in one day I would probably just brew twice.

tom_sawyer · October 25, 2013, 8:33pm

I like the sandwich style bottom on a kettle. I’d save the money and go with the Megapot.

scalded_dog · October 25, 2013, 9:50pm

Same price as what? The 15 gal with valve and thermo is $300

I don’t think I’d ever want to make 10 gallons of beer at a time. I like brewing and I like variety. If I REALLY wanted to make 10 gallons in one day I would probably just brew twice.[/quote]

The 15 and 10 Gal were the same price, but the 15 didn’t have the thermometer so that wasn’t a fair comparison.

Really the suggestions to make your own are great. I found a Weldless Kettle Conversion Kit for $40.00 and a SS pot on Amazon for $133.00 (actually found some much cheaper) Also some brew supply places sell the pots predrilled with one or 2 holes.

I have a friend who is a serious master brewer and he brews 11 gallon batches. I assume because there is some waste, but he get’s an awesome recipe and brews big batches for parties. I think eventually I will brew 10 gallon batches particularly in the summer for lighter ales that I will drink a lot of. For the heavier beers I agree 5 gal batches are probably better.